Kiwi selected to represent Samoa

This will be Kiwi’s third time in representing Samoa at a regional championship. They first represented Samoa at the Club Championships in Fiji in 1999 which saw them as the first local club to do so. This was followed by the O-League Preliminary Tournament in Tonga in 2010 which they qualified for after winning the Football Federation Samoa (“FFS”) national league tournament.Kiwi is made up of players from the villages of Tufui’opa, Malifa and Apia. The football club started in 1977 by group of friends who studied in New Zealand. When they returned home to Samoa as a way to sustain their friendship they meet every evening at the Malifa fields to play football. Since then, the club has continued to grow successfully.The O-League Preliminary tournament is an annual tournament hosted by OFC and is made up of the top four pacific island clubs from the Cook Islands, Tonga, America Samoa and Samoa. To qualify, the teams have to win their National League Tournament in the premier men’s division. The winner of the O-League preliminary tournament will automatically play in the O-League championship made up of teams from New Zealand, Tahiti, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Fiji, and PNG Martin Tamasese, Kiwi Head coach stated even though this will be their 3rd time in the O League Tournament, they have yet to be named as champions.

Therefore, they are training hard and putting in 100% in their preparations as they want to uplift the standard of their game as well as that of Samoa in the sport of Football. Kiwi Football Club consists of 4 teams, including Premier Men’s & Women, First Division and Under 12 boys’ teams.

About FFS

Football Federation Samoa (FFS) was founded in 1968. The federation has been through a challenging period in recent years with FIFA setting up a normalisation committee in 2008. A spell of inactivity followed for the next two years as the sport was rebuilt in Samoa but the normalisation period ended at the beginning of 2011 with the election to president of Toetu Petana. Reverend Laupama Solomona is the current President and he is supported in his role by CEO Faumuina Michael Kapisi.